Saturday, January 01, 2005

d3f1l3 on decks

intro by brent crampton ~ This month, phocas brings you an exclusive mix from Iowa DJ, D3F1L3. Instead of just listing the favorite songs being played out at the moment, we got D3F1L3 to record a mix for us that will only be available on phocas.net. So now you can listen to a mix while you check out D3F1L3's charts.

Finding inspiration to DJ from notorious Iowa resident, Reaktor, D3F1L3 views the DJ as a performer. "Anyone can just beat match and fade between tracks, there should be more of a performance element than that," D3F1L3 said. Spinning mainly breakcore and jungle, he uses scratching and beat juggling to set himself apart from the mix-to-mix DJs.

"My style isn't really meant for club dancing, most of my mixes are supposed to make you think and visualize," D3F1L3 said about his track selection.

D3F1L3 has DJed at Together, Blueshift and various Mons Musik events. However, most of his playing time comes at house parties. "I like house parties more because of the feeling of freedom that seems to permeate them," said D3F1L3. The Subconscious Collective crew, which D3F1L3 spins for, has thrown many infamous house parties in Iowa.

(Sample1) Nightmare :: Tales of the Frightened Vol 2 :: Mercury (perf by Boris Karloff)
Well the whole mix was kind of dream flavored right from the beginning with the Boris Karloff sample leading it off. Who could resist using a voice like Karloff's to start a mix?
Time Locked :: Hecate :: Zhark Intl
I felt like starting off with something dark and gritty and you can't do better than Hecate in that area. The violent feel to this track kind of gives a hint at the sound of later tracks.

Return :: Gridlock :: Hyman
After hitting hard I decided to soften up a bit so as not to scare anyone off early ;)

Pervs :: Nymphomatriarch :: Hyman
This is such a fun track to double I couldn't help myself. The high speed and complex beats of this track were just calling to me.
The Frigid Sigh Got Me High :: Eight Frozen Models:: Zod
Moving from the hard base lines and rapid snares to this, more techy sounding, track seemed a good way to change the sound without changing the feel or the tempo.

( Sample2) Through the Looking Glass :: Lewis Carol :: Caedmon (perf by Joan Greenwood and Stanley Holloway)
Continuing with the dream theme, Alice Through the Looking Glass has always been one of my favorite stories so I decided to use Alice's transition from the real world to the dream world to bridge these two tracks together.

Pendulum :: Solenoid :: Zod
Back into the dreamy sensations we go while stepping up the complexity a bit. Makes it a little harder to beat juggle, but really ends up having a nice sound to it.
That's Not It At All :: Curtis Chip :: Zod
Then it was time to raise the spirits of this mix a bit and this track does exactly that. Curtis Chip = " the man"

Nomad :: Bill Youngman :: Mental.ind.records
This track has the cleaner sound to it that is nice to move to after the synth heavy "That's Not It At All" All I can really say is that the use of silence in this track speaks volumes.
Damper :: Bill Youngman :: Mental.ind.records
This track is a grade noisier than the last track with out being a hard transition. It is the next track on the same record as the last one and I like the way they go together so I used cuts and scratching from the track after this one to transition between them.

Scared of an Imaginary Iceland :: Ontayso :: On
This one has, at the same time, a very zen feel and a tribal rhythm. Good for moving from the quiet track before this one to the noisier track following.
How to Steal and Store an Ice Sculpted Bear :: Venetian Snares & Cex :: Klang Krieg Prod
This one is just plain fun to mess around with. Not the easiest to beat match so messing with a sample blends well and adds some imagery.

Happy Mechanical Unit :: Zrak Zapytania :: Low Res
Thought it was winding down? Time to hit it hard again! This track rattles my fillings!
Get With This :: Brodie Guy :: Zod
Continuation of the hard and loud. This time with more distortion!

Electric Deaf :: Ata Ebtekar :: Warp Records Ltd
Now is where the mix starts to get a little more abstract. This track has some killer flow to it's progression.
Couchburn 2 :: Fanny :: Zod
Fanny shows excellent use of sampling and tension building ambiance to create this track.

Slosophy :: ADC & Somatic Responces :: Praxis
Flowing from the tension built in the last track and with the sinister sounds in this one it seemed an easy choice to continue the dream/nightmare theme.
Nerve Picking :: yogo.onomotobok :: Zod
And has a nice hard cut to this very noisy, but intense track.

Negative Force :: Resurrector :: No Room For Tallent
I wanted the last track to relay slowly waking from a disturbed slumber to a familiar but darkened room.

(Sample3) Nightmare :: Tales of the Frightened Vol 2 :: Mercury (perf by Boris Karloff)
And it only seemed appropriate to end with a different part of the same sample I started with.